Sucky Supermarket Customers

[freespirit114]

I work in the deli of a supermarket so some of my peeves are department specific.

People who throw an absolute fit if something is out of stock. It's a freaking grocery store! It's sandwich meat! There are literally 100,00 other yummy food items all around you, no one ever died of lack of honey ham. Not like its baby formula or your heart medication. Get over it.

People who are standing RIGHT in front of me when I call their number and are either on the phone or just ignore us. Then, once we've moved on by 5 or 6 people start bitching that we skipped them and they are next. Nope, no dice. I call 4 times, you don't pay attention and I have other people waiting I move on and you go to the back of the line. Exceptions made of course for those who need it.

[Jetfire]

I'm also annoyed by customers who will go through their bags right in front of you and start re-packing to their own specifications, especially if they don't tell you ahead of time that they need items bagged in a certain way. It's incredibly insulting. Hey, I only do this EVERY SINGLE DAY, I think I know how not to squash your bread or eggs and not to put the bleach next to the baby formula.

I will often repack my bags. But I do it after loading up my cart and rolling away so I'm out of traffic. (And usually I packed them myself to begin with). Since I take the bus, I usually have a backpack and reusable bags, and I like to load up the heavy stuff (pop and milk) in the backpack (which cna usually hold 4-5 bottles with ease), and then readjust the rest so it's relatively balanced; or in one bag.

But as I said, I do that after I've left the register and out of traffic so I'm not blocking anyone and so I'm not slowing down the initial packing much by trying to decide where things go right then and there.

[wolfie]

On the flip side, I loved the customers who told me "to make the bags as heavy as possible". Always viewed that as a challenge and would routinely get a $100+ order into under 4 bags

The grocery equivalent of "cubing out" a 53 foot dry van with lead ingots?

[Kit-Ginevra]

They are permitted to glare if you did actually just pick up their first born child and slam dunk it...

[Lace Neil Singer]

Worse is the person who's response is an angry mutter, or a glare at you as tho you just picked up their first born child and slam dunked it.

[Bloodsoul]

2. The person who never says anything when you say "hi how are you today?"

I'm a naturally quiet guy; I can't help it!

[ZombieDeterrent]

this thing about chemicals and food not mixing... as long as the chems aren't leaking it's fine. i'm not cracking out another bag just because someone wants 1 bottle of bleach and 1 pack of bacon. i've been mixing chems and food in bags for years and guess what... not a single mention of it.

[fireheart]

I read that as TAFFER qualification...

Sorry, TAFE=Technical and Further Education. Basically home to blue-collar tertiary study and some low-level white collar tertiary study (ie your average receptionist would go through TAFE to be trained as such. Your average carpenter would do an apprenticeship that requires him to attend a TAFE campus 2-3 days a week)

My work (along with a number of childcare businesses) allow staff to either a) work while studying through a TAFE campus and count work towards course units or b) undertake a traineeship through the company (if the workplace is a registered training organisation-mine is) and get a TAFE certificate in the process (and not necessarily rely on having to attend formal classes)

[Geek King]

I read that as TAFFER qualification...

Hey, do you want to go to the bear pits after shift?

[otakuneko]

So so so glad now that my current job a) requires all staff to at LEAST have a TAFE qualification

I read that as TAFFER qualification...

[fireheart]

I don't work in a smoke shop, but I get this on a regular basis. Guy/girl/whatever they are comes up to the counter and says "Marlboro". That's it. I'm supposed to know WHICH of the 37 types of Marlboro we carry that they want.

I don't even flinch anymore, I just make a half turn towards the cigarettes, wave my hand towards ALL the Marlboros, and stare at them. Amazingly, they finally figure it out.

Occasionally I'd have customers say "Green Pall Malls" or "Red Superkings" or something along those lines.

The worst customers were the roll-your-owns, as they would never tell me if they wanted 30 or 50g packs. On top of that, the roll-your-own cupboard absolutely REEKED every single time I went to open it. I didn't spend too long in there if I could help it.

[Teefies2]

One I can remember from my days working as a supermarket cashier:

-When you go to the smokeshop, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! One guy told me he wanted "Alpine Menthol" but didn't specify which strength (because Australian law prohibits "Light" "Low Tar" etc. on the labels and we also no longer put the strength amounts on them, cigarettes have labels such as "Filter","Smooth", "Fresh" etc.). ALL ALPINE CIGARETTES ARE MENTHOL!

I don't work in a smoke shop, but I get this on a regular basis. Guy/girl/whatever they are comes up to the counter and says "Marlboro". That's it. I'm supposed to know WHICH of the 37 types of Marlboro we carry that they want.

I don't even flinch anymore, I just make a half turn towards the cigarettes, wave my hand towards ALL the Marlboros, and stare at them. Amazingly, they finally figure it out.

[fireheart]

One I can remember from my days working as a supermarket cashier:

-When you go to the smokeshop, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! One guy told me he wanted "Alpine Menthol" but didn't specify which strength (because Australian law prohibits "Light" "Low Tar" etc. on the labels and we also no longer put the strength amounts on them, cigarettes have labels such as "Filter","Smooth", "Fresh" etc.). ALL ALPINE CIGARETTES ARE MENTHOL!

[Monterey Jack]

10. The person who gives you awkward packing demands

I'm also annoyed by customers who will go through their bags right in front of you and start re-packing to their own specifications, especially if they don't tell you ahead of time that they need items bagged in a certain way. It's incredibly insulting. Hey, I only do this EVERY SINGLE DAY, I think I know how not to squash your bread or eggs and not to put the bleach next to the baby formula.

[bbbr]

10. The person who gives you awkward packing demands, unless you're disabled and make such requests pack yourself!

There was a customer in my old store who would hand us her order one item at time and require that each individual item be bagged seperately. Sometimes in a plastic bag, sometimes in a paper bag and occasionally the ever popular "paper in plastic with an extra paper bag on the outside" since her table-talk single serve pies weighed more than a freezer bag could ever handle...

On the flip side, I loved the customers who told me "to make the bags as heavy as possible". Always viewed that as a challenge and would routinely get a $100+ order into under 4 bags (excluding the chemicals, meats and other items that don't mix).